“So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it” (2 Corinthians 5:9).
A salesman would starve to death unless he learned to “close the deal.” No matter how marvelous his presentation, he never says, “OK, if you folks decide that you want to buy this, now, get back to me and I’ll take your order.” There is one more step. He must close the deal, and that’s where motivation comes into the picture. That’s why salespeople will often get to the bottom line and say something like, “Now if you sign on the dotted line today, we will throw in a bonus which is absolutely free!”
Actually, there’s nothing in the world that is really free; it cost someone something—the price is factored in, but you like to think you are getting a deal. Something for nothing appeals to our greedy natures, so the incentive motivates us to act, to sign the purchase agreement, to move.
But what about incentives as a tool of motivation? Say, for example, you tell your kids, “Get good grades and you get your own cell phone.” Before I respond to that question specifically, I’d like to point out there is one thing which should never be used as a tool for motivation, and it is your love for a child or someone else. Unwise parents send a non-verbal message that goes, “If you make good grades, stay out of trouble, and otherwise make me proud of you, I’ll love you. But if you embarrass me or get into trouble, forget it. The deal’s off.”
Furthermore, when you make a promise, whether it is to your child or to an employee, don’t forget. He won’t. And when you fail to come through, he will remember it for the rest of his life. How do I know? I will always recall the disappointment I felt when I was a teenager and won a contest, and the promised trip, which was to go to the winner, never materialized.
I’d also like to point out that an incentive is different than a bribe. An incentive can be positive, healthy, and has a point. There is a difference–at least I’d like to think so, though I admit the difference between the two seems to blur at some times.
The reality is that life rewards those who excel and penalize those who fall short, and though God has no black book with columns listing our good deeds and bad deeds, when we get to heaven, we will be rewarded according to our deeds–so says Paul, writing to the Corinthians.
Now Paul determined to run the race with patience and diligence, looking to Jesus as the author and the finisher of our faith. He told Timothy that a soldier doesn’t get entangled in the affairs of life so that “he may please Him who has chosen him to be a soldier” (2 Timothy 2:4).
Again, He said, “So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it” (2 Corinthians 5:9).
The reality is that rewards and incentives are a major factor in motivation, whether it is to succeed in your business, excel in your studies, or prepare to knock on heaven’s door with the anticipation that you will hear, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord.”
Now, a final thought. Doing things only because we have an incentive can be a policy of selfishness. Doing them because it is the right thing to do with no thought of compensation is really what keeps the world running. It keeps our children fed and clothed, and mothers moving in the morning. While incentives are okay, used properly, they are not really the pillars of life that keep us moving. At some point, we need to learn to do the right thing, because we know that is what God requires of us, and we want to please Him. And besides, it works. That’s self-motivation. Think about it!
Resource reading: Colossians 1:1-14.
